Dock-strut or stay



Nov. 17, 1931'.

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P. E. LEUPEN DOCK STRUT 0RV STAY Filed May ZB, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet lPetrus Ellen/ben Nav. 17, 1931.

P. E. LEUPEN 1,832,782

DOCK STRUT OR STAY Filed May 25, 1930 2 Sheets-5h68! 2 FIGS.

Il 'w- ,Eve/piaf.'- Era SEI/e u/ven Patented Nov. V17, 1931 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE PETRUS E. LEU'PEN, OF AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS,ASSIGNOR TO NEDERLANDSCHE DOK-MAATSCHAPPIJ N. V., OF AMSTERDAM,NETHERLANDS, A COMPANY F THE NETHERLANDS noox-sTRUT on STAY Applicationled May 28, 1930, Serial No. 456,667, and in the Netherlands June 1,1929.

The use of wooden dock-struts or dockstays causes considerable expenses,primarily because it is necessary to keep a large stock with a view tothe necessity of disposing of 51 a great variety of lengths.Furthermore, the

struts must often be renewed, because of theirl heads putrefying,whereas the transport of the stays to and from the storehouse takes upmuch time.

In accordance with the invention, the dockstrut is of iron andtelescoping, so that it can be adjusted to the required length inaccordance with the Width of the vessel to be docked. This adjustment ispreferably effected by means of a cross-pin cooperating with holes, ofwhich each strut part is provided, the pitch of the holes in the onepart being, however, different from that in the other part, so that,notwithstanding the considerable distance that must be necessarily beleft between adjacent holes, a fine adjustment of the total length ofthe stay can be obtained.

The tubular or outer part of the stay is preferably provided with aseries of eyes, or with a section iron rivetted thereto and having aseries of holes, or with a plurality of such section irons, or with astrap having a hook or an eye and adapted to be clamped in the requiredposition to said outer part, or with any other suitable element allowingthe stay to be engaged by the rope of a crane so as to assume asubstantially horizontal position when freely suspended. It will beunderstood that the centre of gravity of the stay will be shifted whenthe length of the stay is varied. As it is desired to keep the stay in asubstantially horizontal position, it is necessary to engage itvertically above its centre of gravity. By the provision of a pluralityof eyes for the engagement of the load hook of the crane, or for theprovision of D- shackles, it is possible to determine, for each adjustedlength of the stay, the suitable point where the stay should be engagedby the load hook, so that the stay will be in equilibrium when beinghoisted.

One end of the stay may be provided with a screw jack, so as to avoidthe necessity of using wedges.

The'fdrawings illustrate, by way of exa-mple, two embodiments of theinvention.

Fig. l1 is a side elevational view of the stay having its minimumlength, and

. Fig.2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 shows the stay having its maximum length, the outer end of theinner part being broken a-wayand the end of the outer part `beingprovided with a screw jack. l

Fig. l is a cross-section along the line IV-IV in Fig. 3, on an enlargedscale.

Fig. 5 illustrates how the novel dock-stays are used.

The outer part of the dock-stay extends from a to b, the inner part from0 to d.

The outer part essentially comprises two channels 6 interconnected bystrips 7, U-irons 8 and Vangles 9, so that its inner walls are entirelysmooth. Secured to it atthe end b (Figs. l and 2)` is a wooden block 10adapted to be engaged by wedges 11, when the stay is in operation.

The inner part c--d essentially consists of two channel irons 12arranged with their flanges towards one another. Rivetted to the innerfaces of the flanges are the ish plates 13. The rivets are countersunkin the beams 12, so that the inner part has smooth outer walls from c tocl. At the end d, the beams are bent inward, whereby the introduction ofpart c-d into the part a-b is facilitated. The beams ,6 may be normalsections. The beams 12 should have a slightly lower section to preventthem from jamming in the outer part. Said beams may suitably be bentfrom strips. At the end o, a head 14: is pivoted to the inner part bymeans of a pin 15, so that the wooden bearing block 16 can adjust itselfto the ships side.

To the angle 17 is secured a D-shackle 18 adapted to be engaged by asteel rope 19, by which the stay can be suspended from the ship (seeFig.

The flanges of the channels 6 of the outer part are provided with seriesof registering holes 20. At the end d of the inner part, there are onlytwo pairs of holes 21 spaced apart a distance equal to one half of thepitch of the holes 20. A cross connecting pin 22 is adapted to be passedthrough the holes 2O and 2l. By providing the part o d With say foursets of holes spaced apart at unequal distances all smaller than thepitch of holes 20, it is possible to still more accurately adjust thelength of the stay.

Rivetted to the outer part are two angles 23 having a series of holes 24therein. These holes are adapted to receive D-shaclles 25 for fasteninga strap adapted to be engaged by the load hook of the crane. If the stayhas its minimum length, it Will, when being suspended from the crane,assume a horizontal position if the D-shaclles 25 engage the holes 24 tothe extreme right, see Figs. 1 and 2. lf the stay has its maximumlength, (Fig. 3) ,the D-shackles 25 should engage the holes 24 to theextreme left in order that the stay be horizontal when suspended (Fig.By placing the one D-shackle Q5 in one hole of the one angle 23 and thesecond D-shackle in the next hole of the other angle 23, the point ofengagement by the load hook may be varied by a length equal to only onehalf of the pitch of holes 24, although it does not matter very muchWhether the stay, freely suspended from the cra-ne, assumes a somewhatinclined position, because the rope 19 allows of the correct position tobe easily obtained.

In accordance with Fig. 3, the block Z) is secured to the head of ascrew jack 27, the nut of which is adapted to be rotated by means of aratchet 29, whereby the same effeet can be obtained as with the Wedges11.

rIubular doclr stays in accordance with the invention can be made toaii'ord great strength and are more reliable than are vvooden struts. Itis, therefore, possible to hold a vessel in equilibrium with arelatively small number of iron stays. The positioning and the removalof the stays takes, therefore, very little time and When the vessel isto be repaired, said stays are not so in a mans Way than are the greatnumber of Wooden stays that would otherwise have to be used.

Vhat I claim is An adjustable multi-part dock stay, one part beingadapted for sliding movement within another part, a cross-pininterconnecting both parts, and at least one bar connected to the secondpart, the said bar being provided With a number of hoisting-holes, thefirst and the last hole of Which are situated near the centres ofgravity of the doel; stay when it is adjusted respectively to itsminimum length and to its maximum length.

1n testimony whereof I my signature.

PETRUS E. LEUPEN.

